I know it's been a while since I entered a blog, but things have been hectic lately. I startd dialysis in September and it really puts a cramp in my travels. Three days a week for four hours is a hard row to how, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I am still able to work so between my job and going places with my husband and seeing my grandkids once in a while keeps me going.

Anyway, we did make a trip to Houston in March, 2009 to see Johnaton Coulton. We left town on Thursday after my dialysis session and spent the night in Austin. It was very cold and ice was on the trees. Amazing how the weather can change.

The in-laws just happened to be visiting in Colorado City to see Nanny so they were on their way back home. We met Joey and L.D, Ray and Jan at P. F. Chang's. We had a great time visiting and catching up. The food there is always great. We stayed at a Comfort Inn and Suites and it was a very nice place. The most comfortable one we've stayed at so far.

The next morning we hit the road for Houston. After checking in our motel we headed to The Aquarium to join Ryan Vurlicer and friends for dinner before heading to the concert. We had a great time at the House of Blues. We sat in the balcony and it was like we were right above the stage. We had a great view of the show. Paul and Storm were the opening act and they were hilarious. Even had the audience participating in their antics. We heard a lot of the songs that Coulton is famous for such as "Tom Cruise Crazy" and "Eat Your Brain". It was a great time. Am looking forward to planning another concert trip.

The next day I got in touch with my best friend from my younger days and had lunch with Diania Mendoza and her family. It sure was good to see her again after nearly 30 years. She hasn't changed a bit. She has two daughters Stephanie and Diania. Her husband Tino was nice and it was finally good to meet them after all this time. After lunch with Diania and her family, we met Roger's friend David at a Starbucks and they had a nice visit. He and Susan seem to be doing well. And I know it was good for Roger to see his best friend.

We left after the visit with David and spent the night in San Antonio. We drove around the next morning exploring and taking a few pictures before heading in the direction of home. We took the scenic route thru Fredericksburg and enjoyed seeing the sights. I didn't mention that it rained on us the whole trip. But it was worth it. We all needed the rain!!

Continuing trip

Yeah, I know. I am a little behind. Been kinda busy lately, but here I am to continue with our trip home from the wedding in Seattle. After touring thru the rest of Yosemite and burning our brakes coming down out of the mountains we landed in Bishop, California for the night. It was a nice place and we left early the next morning heading for Las Vegas. It was a long and hot road when we finally got to Nevada we ran across this "ghost town" and stopped to take a few pictures. It was a humorous place and a bit out of our way but then we were exploring and said why not. It was a former gold mining town out in the middle of nowhere named Goldpoint. It was made up of ramshackle buildings that were former saloon, bordello,general store, etc. It was kinda cute but we didn't hang around too long. It was also a little creepy.

We headed on down the road and finally reached Las Vegas and boy was it crowded. We got into town at rush hour traffic and were beginning to have a little trouble with the transmission. I guess the car was getting tired of all the traveling. lol. We checked into our motel and took a little rest before heading next door to the restaurant /casino to enjoy a meal and gamble a little. Of course we lost a little money, but we placed a limit and had a good time. The next morning we toured up the main drag and grabbed some pictures of most of the famous hotels and casinos on the strip. We picked up some souvenoirs at the huge souvenior shop that I had seen on my favorite TV show CSI.

We headed out of town and saw the famous "Leaving Las Vegas" sign and decided to cross Hoover Dam. There was construction going on and the line was long. It was fascinating how huge the dam was but neither of us wanted to get out of the car because it was so dang hot!. We dd however stop on the Arizona side of the dam at a little souvenoir shop for a few goodies. The clerk there was very friendly.

We made Alberquerque, New Mexico very late and took our time getting up the next morning to head home. Alone the way, we stopped at the Billy the Kid Museum and rested and took some pictures and gathered up some souvenoirs like usual. It was a nice museum and very well thouhgt out and maintained. They had all kinds of pictures and old relics from the western days. Worth the stop.

Finally, We arrived back in good old Texas and headed for home thankful for a nice trip, but grateful to be in our own beds. e had a really good time and hope to get to travel like that again soon.

California!!

After finally reaching Ukiah, California for the night, it was nice to get outta the car for a while. We took our time leaving this town and explored a little. Not too much to see but we saw it anyway. LOL.

Well, we made it to Sacramento, California. It was the capitol so, of course, we had to go check out the building. We toured the building a little and after doing a little shopping in the gift shop, Roger said why don't we eat lunch there so we did. It was nice and the food was good. On the way out , we noticed a crowd was gathering in the hall we needed to go out to our car. They weren't letting anyone thru and there were these men in suits guarding the exits. We suspected something big was going to happen. Sure enough, The governor was going to make an appearance. We decided to hang around and see if we can see him. I did manage to get a picture of him, tho it was not a great one. lol

After all the excitement of seeing Arnold Swartzenegger, we headed for Yosemite National Park for the drive thru. Talk about beautiful country. First we climbed, and climbed and climbed. Thought it was never going to end. Lots and lots of pine trees and the air smelled of it. One lttle drawback was that there was a fire blazing around the Mariposa Grove that was sending smoke all thru the valleys. It obscured a lot of the views down, but we were still able to see a lot of stuff. We weren't lucky enough to see any deer, elk or bear but you could see signs of them everywhere. The smoke must have sent them into hiding. We made it more than halfway thru the park before it got too dark to see anymore. On the way out of the park heading toward to our motel in Bishop, California we were smoking brakes coming down the mountains.

Leaving the island

Well, the wedding festivities were over and now it's time to hit the road again. Roger and I decided to take the long way home traveling south from Washington thru California then heading west from there.

Our first stop for the night after leaving the island (and taking another ferry ride) was Salem, Oregon. We stopped for a visit at the state capitol building to take a few pictures and get a few souvenoirs. What was fasinating about the Oregon Capitol building was the golden man on the top. It sure was shiny and you can't miss it. It was really a beautiful building.

Leaving Salem and still traveling thru Oregon, we saw a sign that indicated a covered bridge was ahead. The bridge was named "Grave Creek" and was part of the Applegate Trail, part of the famous Oregon Trail. It appeared to be kept up proudly as you can see from the picture. It was nice to see.

Getting back on the road, we headed down the road and finally reached California. We made the scenic route thru the National Redwood Forests and were fascinated by the HUGE trees. Naturally, we had to stop and take a few pictures. This was nice country and we kept 'oohing'and 'ahhing' at all the trees.

We stopped for supper in Crescent City, California and got the first glipmse of the Pacific Ocean in twilight. We still had to get to our stop for the night in Ukiah, California so we really didn't see much of the water since it had gotten dark.

The ceremony

The wedding of my brother-in-law and his intended was a beautiful affair. They were married on top of Mt. Constitution on Orcas Island. The weather held up beautifully and the sun actually broke thru the clouds to brighten the day. Britney Roach became Mrs. Marty Cline in a lovely ceremony, Many of their families and friends were in attendance and no one could stop smiling. After the ceremony, bride and groom climbed up the observation tower on the mountain and she tossed her boquet down to the waiting single gals.

Everyone loaded up the chartered buses to head back down the mountain to the reception where a delicious meal was served to all and toasts were made congratulating the happy couple. The guests then enjoyed homemade pies for dessert (the wedding cake). The lights were dimmed and dancing began. I think everyone was having a good time. I know I did. It was really nice getting to know everyone.

The wedding

We arrived on Orcas Island by way of Washington State Ferry. It was a really nice and comfortable ride. The complaint I had was the price of that ride. It cost about $50 bucks for a round trip. Oh, and IT WAS COLD out on that water. We kept an eye out for dolphins and whales but didn't see any. It took about an hour to reach our destination.

We arrived at Eastsound, Orcas Island early that afternoon and checked in our home for the next three nights. It was a beautiful inn that looked out over the water. And it was pretty comfortable. This is a picture of the Outlook Inn and the other pic a view from our room. Like I said, beautiful. We couldn't stand it we had to go explore a little. We took a little drive and saw black tailed deer, canada geese, mountains and lakes. The town consists of quaint little shops and restaurants, and boy was it filled with people. It looks like a lot of weekenders make the island a popular destination.

Two week vacation and wedding trip

Well, it looks like I got a little behind. Continuing our journey, we headed toward Seattle with a stop in Missoula, MT for supper and then drove for a few more hours til we reached Spokane, WA. Along the route we noticed a sign pointing the way to a ghost town. After taking a drive of 2 hours on a 10 mile route we finally reached a well preserved site of Garnet Ghost Town. There were about eleven buildings that looked like they were suspended in time. It was an old mining town in Montana. Gold was in them thar hills, but the veins soon played out. We discovered when we got there that there was an easier way to get there via the north. We apparently took the more "scenic" one. LOL. It was exciting cos you never knew when you were going to meet a giant logging truck around the next bend. Fortunately we didn't meet one.

After leaving the ghost town, we traveled the mountains toward Spokane thru areas that the famous duo Lewis and Clark and their guide, Sacajawea made their trek. It was really beautiful and green and you could just imagine how wild it was back then. Along the way, various postings marked where the trio stood and traveled thru. We finally reached Spokane around midnight that night.

Leaving Spokane the next morning, we finally reached Seattle, WA. We ran into Roger's dad and one of their friend's at the tuxedo shop where we picked up Rog's tux for the wedding and followed them to their hotel to visit for a bit. We checked into our motel and went out to eat at a restaurant called "Las Margaritas". It was pretty tasty mexican food fare. After that we just went to our room and vegged out til we got ready for our trip to the island the next morning.